Buoyed by growth in the Indian and US markets, drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd clocked a 57 per cent growth in net profit at ₹1,587 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, compared to ₹1,012 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

This comes as Sun undertakes the process of merging troubled drugmaker Ranbaxy with itself; in an all-stock deal announced last month valued at $4 billion, Sun bought Ranbaxy.

Sun’s net sales at ₹4,044 crore was up 32 per cent in the period under review. Its branded generic medicines contributed a sales of ₹947 crore in India, a 21 per cent growth in the same quarter last year. Its US sales at $403 million grew 22 per cent in dollar terms in the last quarter, the company said. In fact, international revenues accounted for more than 75 per cent of the company’s total revenues for the quarter, it added.

Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Managing Director, said the year was good as its performance reflected the company’s focus on strategy. “We are developing a differentiated and specialty business and continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance our global presence,” he said.

Sun clocked a net profit of ₹3,204 crore for the year ended March 31, 2014, compared to ₹2,983 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The company’s net sales stood at ₹16,004 crore, a growth of 42 per cent over the same period last year. This included a 25 per cent growth in the domestic sales of branded generic medicines, clocking revenues of ₹3,692 crore.

Sun’s revenues in the US at $1,620 million saw a 43 per cent growth in dollar terms over the same period last year. International revenues from the sale of finished medicine at $316 million grew 13 per cent in dollar terms over the same period last year, the company said.

Sun’s consolidated research and development expense in the last three months stood at ₹308 crore, or 7.6 per cent of sales. Its annual spend on research was ₹1,042 crore, or 6.5 per cent if of sales.

Ranbaxy merger Sun’s proposed merger of Ranbaxy had run into trouble, with some investors approaching the Andhra Pradesh High Court alleging insider trading. Ranbaxy’s stock price had shot up in days before the deal was announced. But Sun had in the past denied any wrong doing.

Recently, the AP High Court vacated its earlier stay against the merger, as the stock market regulator SEBI was already investigating the deal. Consequently, Sun withdrew a related petition earlier filed in the Supreme Court, a lawyer familiar with the development told Business Line.

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